Google Co-Founder Kind of a Jerk in Person, Says Fellow Billionaire

It's so fun to see the media wars play out in actual tiffs between actual human beings in actual rooms together. Take this passive-aggressive clash between Google's Larry Page, programmer, and IAC's Barry Diller, onetime movie mogul.

Media writer Ken Auletta explored the purported arrogance of Page and co-founder Sergey Brin in his Google book. From an exceprt in the New Yorker (subscriber-only link):

Diller... recalled visiting Page and Brin in the early days of Google. Diller was disconcerted that Page, even as they talked, stared fixedly at the screen of his P.D.A. "It's one thing if you're in a room with 20 people and someone is using his P.D.A.," Diller recalled.

"I said to Larry, ‘Is this boring?' "

"No. I'm interested. I always do this," Page said.

"Well, you can't do this," Diller said. "Choose."

"I'll do this," Page said matter-of-factly, not lifting his eyes from his handheld device.

"So I talked to Sergey," Diller said. "I left thinking that more than most people they were wildly self-possessed."

Then a couple of years later, the co-founder of Twitter, who used to work at Google, straight up "laughed" at Diller, at a conference. Barry Diller gets no respect from the kids these days.